10 Years - The Autumn Effect 
Label:Republic Records

Dan Upton's review he gave it a rating of 

I was first attracted to 10 Years by the fact that they were tapped as support on tour with Disturbed and Ill Nino. Take that and add to it that they've opened for Velvet Revolver, and that The Autumn Effect's producer has also worked with Staind and Velvet Revolver, and you can get a pretty good idea of what to expect: radio-friendly modern hard rock. This means they're easy to write off after a first listen; that's a shame, because they have more to offer than a lot of the current crop of radio fare.

In the band's bio, frontman Jesse Hasek says music should be about feeling and intensity, and that as a band they want people to think and feel emotions again. Lyrically and vocally, they achieve this: the vocals, while clean throughout, are expressive and cover a wide range from introspective and quiet, sounding like he's talking to himself, to passionate yells and wails. It's refreshing to me to hear a modern rock vocalist who can express power without resorting growls and screams. Lyrically the CD speaks of emotions, experiences with people, and the state of society, from "Empires" criticism of materialism to the lamenting of people isolating themselves in "Seasons to Cycle."

Musically, on the other hand, they don't quite reach their goal of feeling and intensity. A lot of the music is standard modern rock fare, intros and choruses with one guitar riffing away and the other playing a higher melodic part, verses carried by the bass with some picked melodic lines, and the occasional chunky breakdown. Not every song follows that pattern, but most do. The tight production also takes away some of the intensity--not that you have to be sloppy and distorted to be intense, but it's still possible to be too smooth.  

Where 10 Years really shine musically though is in the long instrumental passages in songs such as "Through the Iris" and the title track. These aren't prog rock crazy solo breaks, but they do show a talent for composing atmosphere. Using some of these chops more often in the songs could've brought them further above the pack. 

It's too bad 10 Years can be written off as just another band in the heap, because there are some strong tracks and some musical sensibilities and talent that won't come through on singles--even if a song like "Through the Iris" makes it to radio, the quest for a 3 minute rock song will probably lead to its instrumental passage being cut. All the same, if you like all things modern rock, this CD is for you.

antiGUY's review he gave it a rating of 

I'm always a bit leery of bands you hear a lot about before they even release an album. Remember Sinnistar? On the other hand, I'm always interested to hear the actual music that creates such a buzz to see if it lives up to expectations. 

I really didn't know what to expect with 10 Years. I've been seeing their name mentioned on numerous hard rock sites for the past few months and had never heard them. Then I discovered the buzz about that came more from winning fans over opening for bands like Static-X and Velvet Revolver than the typical hype machine. So, when I saw that we had received the CD in for review I immediately wanted to check it out only to find out Dan had beaten me to it. Lucky the gods smiled on me as a couple days later Universal sent another copy and the boss handed it off to yours truly. 

Now we get to the acid test. What was all the hoopla about and do these guys measure up to it? After one listen, I understood the buzz about the band. 10 Years offers up something different yet familiar and the obvious evolution of alternative metal by mixing the best aspects of numetal with Tool like dynamics. 

I know people hate comparisons but I just can't get away from the progressive Tool/APC aspects to 10 Years and that is easily their biggest strength, but when coupled with their ability to write hooks and you have a major contender on your hands. 

10 Years also accomplishes what many bands aspire to achieve but very few fail in the execution; and that is finding a balance. Especially when dealing with progressive based bands, some tend to go off the deep end and forsake mass appeal but 10 Years manage to capture an unquestionable progressive nature to their music while still offering something that could easily land a lot of radio airplay. However, in the end, this band does have real musical credibility while having mainstream viability; really the best of both worlds. While 10 Years may turn off the hardest of the hardcore metal fans, they should find a rather large audience for this impressive debut, because it really does live up to the hype. 

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